Where your Irish dancing adventure begins!

Our school mission is to teach Traditional Irish step dancing in a productive environment with a focus on the student's self worth. We strive to provide a positive growth experience for the student while he or she takes part in an activity that he or she enjoys. We support all students in their efforts should they decided to compete, perform, or simply dance for recreation.

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Our belief is that young students remain individuals and enjoy themselves, so we do not focus on the unimportant aspects of competition such as hair (some schools require wigs) , make-up and lavish costumes. We try to make classes and school costumes as affordable as possible. We have a non-investment policy—we don't recommend you purchase anything until you're sure this is an activity your child enjoys and chooses to continue.

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Learning to dance at our school is not about pressure, the fuss and muss of extravagant dresses or wigs, or even competitions. Dance at McHale School of Irish Dance is about the individual journey and where one wants to take their Irish Dance experience!

The McHale School of Irish Dance has been teaching Traditional Irish Dancing in Baltimore for over 25 years. The school started with adult Ceili and set classes, later classes grew to adult step dancing and children’s step dancing. About twelve years ago in an effort to cut back and make less more, it was decided to only teach the children’s step classes. Today classes are stronger than ever. Traditional steps, group dances and specialty choreographies are the school's focus.

We take great pride in the fact that we stand out from other high pressure dancing schools. We want our students to enjoy their journey into Irish Dancing which is much deeper then competitions, wigs and flashy costumes. Competition is not for everyone, but Irish Dancing is!

Dancing can be fun without added pressure. We believe in a positive learning environment which we hope will help students develop self confidence and discipline while learning the fundamentals of Irish Dance, along with life lessons that we hope will be with them long after the classes have ended and the stage is dark.

Testimonials

My daughter Olivia has been dancing with McHale School of Irish Dance for 6 years now, and she loves Irish dancing here. McHale School of Irish dance is like no other dance school. What sets it apart from other Irish dance schools is that it is a traditional Irish dance school which focuses first and foremost on a student’s desire to dance. Miss. Linda and Miss. Beth share not only their knowledge and expertise of Irish dance, but most importantly, they share their love and passion for Irish dance with our children. They foster an atmosphere where each child knows if they want to Irish dance, they CAN. My daughter has enjoyed every minute of Irish dance because the focus is put on the joy and art of dancing, and not on other superficial aspects of performing. The atmosphere has always been one of welcome and acceptance, no matter what the child’s dance ability or background, or lack thereof. At McHale, ANYONE can learn to Irish dance if they want to. McHale does a fine job of not only helping the students learn and perfect the basic steps to Irish dancing, like jigs and reels, but they help each dancer improve individually, to attain their personal best. Here at McHale, the teachers don’t just teach; they nurture. They enjoy sharing their love and passion for the art of Irish dancing and it comes through. If you’re looking for a place where your son or daughter can learn the art of Irish dance, in a fun, engaging way, where they can be encouraged to be the best that they can be, and have a lot of fun at the same time, you’ve come to the right place!
~Lainie Connolly

This is the Irish dance school for us! The focus is on having FUN while learning the dance steps, my daughter Kara (9, advanced beginner) loves going to class each Thursday night!
~Pattie Janishefski

I love taking lessons at McHale because my teachers are nice and they teach me dance steps that most people know how to do!